Schools Watched MIT Case Closely September 25, 2000
News Summary
The admission by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) officials that the college was partially responsible for the alcohol death of a freshman is being viewed as a major turning point on how colleges and universities deal with alcohol on campus, ABC News reported Sept. 15.MIT paid the family of Scott Krueger, a freshman who died in 1997 from alcohol poisoning after a night of drinking at a fraternity party, $6 million and admitted that "inadequate" alcohol and housing policies were partly to blame for his death.
"This is a very important event," said Joel Epstein, a staff attorney for the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. "We are seeing a growing number of cases where courts, judges, lawyers and parents are saying this is absolutely outrageous, we didn't know that there was this level of drinking, that it was this dangerous."
Some higher-education experts expect MIT's admission in the Krueger case will convince other colleges of the urgent need to address alcoholism and binge drinking. "Some presidents don't want to respond because it gives school bad press," said Helen Stubbs, a spokeswoman for the Higher Education Center, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Last year, the center released "Be Vocal, Be Visible, Be Visionary," a report that provides school presidents with various approaches for curbing student substance abuse. Among the proposals is that school presidents open discussions about alcohol and other drug prevention among students, faculty and the community.
"We can no longer say it is not our fault, not our responsibility," said Tom Horgan, executive director of the New Hampshire College and University Council. "It has a lot to do with us. There has to be a systematic attempt to changing the culture."
He added, "This isn't just a school problem. We need to engage with the community to come up with the solutions."
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